Steve Green was born on August 1st, 1956 in Portland Oregon. He spent a lot of his early life in Argentina as his folks were Baptist missionaries. He sang tenor on the first two albums by the Gaither Vocal Band and also sang lead on White Heart's self-titled debut album in 1982. Fast forward to 1984 and he put out his self-titled debut solo project (Sparrow). It was produced by Greg Nelson. In the liner notes Steve thanks: "My Lord, for the miracle of salvation and reconciliation, and for the promise of continuing the work that He started. Praise the Lord-Hallelujah!"
1. First up is 'Lift Up A Song', a short, but jubilant praise and worship song of victory: "Oh it is Jesus/The Lamb who has saved us/Who now has been raised and is seated in power/At the hand of the Father/Behold His presence/Comes to His temple/As the redeemed of the Lord join the dance of the passover Lamb (2X)".
2. Melodie Tunney, Dick Tunney, and Bev Darnall wrote the upbeat Christian pop song, 'Looking for the City' which anticipates heaven: "Since the moment of new birth/I've been a stranger on this Earth/An exile of promise living in this world/But with my new eyes of faith/I`m looking for the day/When I'll be gone from this house and at home with the Lord".
3. 'Bring Back the Glory' was penned by Bill and Gloria Gaither and Bill George. It's an inspirational ballad that begins by describing what it's like to be in a spiritual valley: "All the laughter is gone/And the sound of the song that we sang/Slowly faded away/Simple joys that we knew/When we walked close with You, hand in hand in the cool of the day/Are just memories/Or are they dreams?/Yet we hold to the hope/That the music will come back again/Bring back the Glory/Won't You show us what life is for?/Bring back the Glory/Make us open once more".
4. 'Proclaim the Glory of the Lord' is an upbeat praise and worship number that is definitely joyful: "He is our Messiah, our Savior and our King/Let all our voices join as one/And fill the Earth with singing/Glory to our God!/His greatness we applaud/Let every race on every shore/Proclaim the glory of the Lord!"
5. Dony McGuire and Reba Rambo co-wrote 'Wounded Soldier', an easy listening ballad about bearing one another's burdens: "Obeying their orders/They fought on the front lines for our King/Capturing the enemy's stronghold/Weakened from battle/Satan crept in to steal their lives/Don't let a wounded soldier die/Come let us pour the oil/Come let us bind the hurt/Let's cover them with a blanket of His love".
6. 'Lamb of Glory' is a moving praise and worship anthem centered around Calvary: "Precious Lamb of Glory/Love's most wondrous story/Heart of God's redemption of man/Worship the Lamb of Glory/On the cross God loved the world/While all the powers of hell were hurled/No one there could understand/The one they saw was Christ the Lamb".
7. Horns are arranged by Dan Cleary on 'Other Side of the Grave', a light Christian pop song of testimony: "We are alive in Christ/Dead to the world/Free from the sin that enslaves/In His death we died/In His life we live again/On the other side of the grave".
8. 'Broken and Spilled Out' is the longest song at over five minutes in length. It expresses gratitude for Calvary: "And though You were perfect and holy/You gave up yourself willingly/You spared no expense for my pardon/You were used up and wasted for me/Broken and spilled out/Just for love of me, Jesus/God's most precious treasure lavished on me".
9. Mark Gersmehl and Billy Smiley of White Heart co-wrote 'You Can Be (As Full as You Want to Be)' with Dwight Liles and Steve Green. This one's a peppy pop song about totally surrendering to Jesus: "You can be as full as you want to be/Look inside your heart and you will see/All the places that you need to give to Him/Open up your heart and you will see/You can be as full as you want to be/But it's up to you how much you let Him in/Let Him in".
10. Last up is 'People Need the Lord', one of two co-writes on the album by Greg Nelson and Phil McHugh. It would become one of Steve's signature songs over the years. This splendid adult contemporary ballad is about sharing the Gospel with the lost: "Every day they pass me by/I can see it in their eyes/Empty people filled with care/Headed who knows where/On they go through private pain/Living fear to fear/Laughter hides their silent cries/Only Jesus hears/People need the Lord (2X)/At the end of broken dreams/He's the open door/People need the Lord (2X)/When will we realize/People need the Lord".
STEVE GREEN has five fast songs and five slow ones on it. The main musical genres are light pop and inspirational, with touches of easy listening and adult contemporary mixed in. Praising and worshiping God for who He is and what He has done is prevalent on this album. Also prevalent is the story of how Christ came to earth to purchase our salvation at Calvary. God's love for us is great! A desire for intimacy with God is expressed. Also, we are encouraged to care for others, whether they be Christians or not. Steve's vocals are great as are the backing vocals. I'm rating this one a perfect 100%. For more info visit: www.stevegreenministries.org or look him up on Facebook.